Meanwhile, I am trying to move out from the industry into the academia (physics), as what I am curious about is not satisfied by the industry jobs. To each their own, I guess.
To be fair, it sounds like you haven't experienced what it is like to be a full-time academic yet. Anecdotally I hear many more complaints from friends who are in academia than in industry. Low pay, bureaucracy, and rocky path to tenure come to mind...
It’s about the same everywhere.
Bureaucracy perhaps but without doubt the politics in academia are some of the most unpleasant you’ll ever encounter.
I’ve encountered truly rotten politics in industry, too. My experience though is about 6 summer internships and one relatively friendly PhD so maybe I have a rosy picture.
I think bureaucracy is not specific to academia but is rather something that just arises when a group of people try to coordinate work among themselves.